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Resume Restructure Tips with ExamplesAbout 90 percent of resumes are doomed to produce only a fraction of the results they could. Why? They fall into what I call the resume trap because of two critical mistakes:

Focusing on duties and responsibilities instead of results Focusing on career goals instead of an employer's needs

Why do candidates continue to make these mistakes? Job seekers stick with the same formulaic language, regardless of its effectiveness. Potential employers aren't likely to sit down with them and explain why a resume didn’t catch their eye. They’ve either just filed the resume away or dropped it in the recycling pile. It’s also probable that no one else has ever conducted a point-by-point breakdown of these job seekers' resumes to identify the problems, either.

Whatever the reason, here are some ways to make your resume stand out from 90 percent of other job seekers.

Focus on results in your resume. Here is an example of resume language that emphasizes duties, not results: Performed full life-cycle software development on multiple projects.

Does this sound like a results-oriented achievement or a large, nebulous task? Now, here’s that same achievement, only this time, we’re emphasizing specific results:

Played lead role on five software development projects. Researched end-user needs, programmed in C++, tested, implemented, and trained 134 employees. As a result of in-house programming efforts, saved $244,000 vs. 2009 costs.

See the difference? In this example, we detail the work involved, giving an employer a chance to see your duties and responsibilities.

Don't make potential employers work to figure out your value. Be explicit by emphasizing the results you've produced.

Focus on the employer's needs. Employers hate hiring. Every hour spent reading resumes, screening, and interviewing candidates is one hour they can’t spend doing their real job; it’s time-consuming and frequently frustrating. Now, along comes your resume and it starts like this:

Objective: Seeking a challenging position in a forward-thinking company where my skills will be utilized to the fullest extent and recognized with potential for rapid advancement.

What kind of reception do you think you're going to get by focusing on you and your needs, making the employer wade through your “gimme, gimme” opening to get to the rest of your resume? Especially when reading resumes is the last thing they want to be doing?

Turn this objective—and every other part of your resume—around, so that it focuses on the employer and his or her needs. Here’s an example:

Objective: To provide six years of hands-on 3D modeling and rapid prototyping experience to a research or product development position.

By focusing on results produced and on the needs of the employer, you’ll stand clearly apart from 90 percent of other job seekers. Their resumes say, in effect: “Give me a job.” Your resume will say: “Here’s how I can help you.” How much more refreshing and enticing do you think that approach will be? One thing is certain: It can make your job search much shorter.